By Dr. Dyotona Sen

Enriching womens healthcare delivery is a vital step to gender equality in India. Its important to consider the facts currently, India ranks 140th of 156 countries on gender inequality, based on World Economic Forums 2021 Global Gender Gap Report. This reflects the countrys performance on numerous dimensions health and survival, economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, and political empowerment. To pave the way for gender equality, it is imperative to scale efforts to support girls and women across growth indicators. One such way is to advance womens healthcare, such as by supporting women to take charge of their health through initiatives that ensure equitable access to quality care.

The latest National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) showcased a picture of progress on gender equality and healthcare in India. More women nationwide have their own phones (although there remain disparities in rural India) now more than ever before. Additionally, married womens household decision-making relating to healthcare increased from 73.8% in 2015-16 to 92% in 2020-21. Even as growth is visible across womens healthcare, there are still gaps to bridge.

For example, by 2025, there will be 1.1 billion menopausal women in the world. These are women in the prime of their life, possibly at the height of their careers, on whom society depends. Yet many women experience this life stage as a negative one. Half of menopausal women are unlikely to seek medical help for their symptoms even if some can be debilitating, owing to factors like social stigma and low awareness. As menopause is a natural stage of life, it should be recognized by society as such, with more openness to talk about it, its symptoms, and ways to alleviate them.

Also, to ensure women feel confident in opening up about their health, holistic support is key. It is important for women to have access to safe spaces so that they feel comfortable to have conversations where they can be empowered with relevant information and tools to manage their health concerns. By increasing opportunities for trusted interaction between health care professionals and patients, support, and psychological counselling options, we can foster high-quality patient centric care. Women, couples, or families taking the time to understand both the physical and emotional aspects of health complications have a greater chance of coping with situations better.

Moreover, womens health education is important not just for patients, but also for healthcare practitioners. This especially holds true for misdiagnosed and unrecognized conditions like endometriosis and anemia. By skilling healthcare practitioners, such as through training modules, we can expand the base of their knowledge regarding latest developments and effective practices. Pregnancy, for instance, can be a time filled with joy but also worries. To avoid health complications and support maternal health and safer childbirths, Abbott introduced Gynecology Anemia checklists across India with the Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI) to help doctors better manage iron deficiency anemia in pregnancy. Such measures streamline service delivery across the board with latest evidence-based recommendations.

As such healthcare solutions become available to support physicians and patients, another part of the larger picture must be to scale access. To reach women with healthcare solutions in underserved areas, including rural and peri-urban regions, collective action by multiple stakeholders is key. National and state governments, industry bodies, private players and public-private partnerships are all integral to a sustainable approach. Abbott supports work to overcome urban-rural disparity in accessing healthcare services, hospitals, and treatment through the Abbott Strengthening Healthcare Access (ASHA) initiative. Working with the Indian Medical Association (IMA) on educational programs, we also aim to empower healthcare professionals and rural health care workers to improve treatment options in rural areas. Leveraging collective strengths to set up and support primary health centre capacities are ways to reach women with health information and get a step closer to equitable health coverage.

By having access to trusted information, women can address health issues they may have previously neglected and thrive in their personal, social, and work life. In fact, Abbott is working to foster science-based learning amongst 1,500 young children 45% of whom are girls from socially disadvantaged communities. In addition to helping improve their problem-solving skills through access to digital tools for science-based learning, we are working to improve their knowledge of health challenges such as non-communicable diseases, nutrition and menstrual hygiene, while also providing them with access to indoor and outdoor sports. By empowering them with skills to be future-ready, such as by promoting healthy choices and preventive behaviours, we intend to ensure they maintain good health to reach their full potential.

Womens health needs to be a nationwide priority, upheld through the synergies between collaborative efforts and advanced health solutions. At Abbott, we believe that health and dignity are vital to every human beings ability to live a full life. We aim to continue to invest in expanding the scope of healthcare for women and girls so we can advance the future of equity and empowerment in Indian healthcare.

By Dr. Dyotona Sen, Head Medical Affairs, Abbott India

The rest is here:
Championing Womens Healthcare Needs: Towards Equity & Empowerment - ETHealthWorld